He earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the
Philippines where he was a consistent scholar.
He obtained his Master of Law as Dewitt Fellow at the University of
Michigan. He is a life member of two international honor societies, the
Phi Kappa and Phi Gamma Mu.

In 1971, Angara founded with several law classmates the ACCRA law
offices, today one of the most prestigious law firm in the Philippines.He subsequently headed the three biggest and most respected law
associations in the country – the International Bar of the Philippines,
the Philippine Bar Association and the UP Law Alumni Association which
remains to be the only regional law association in the world.

The University of the Philippines gave him the most distinguished
Alumnus Award in 1981.
The UP College of Law also conferred on him its Highest
Professional Award. That
same year, he was elected president of the university.

A conscientious lawmaker and an indefatigable worker, Edgardo Angara’s
public life started when he helped draft the 1973 Constitution,
authoring landmark constitutional provisions such as the Democratization
of Ownership of Public Utilities and the protection of Public Domain
from Undue Exploitation by Developers.

He was the lead proponent of the Free High School Act, the Subsidy to
Private Education, the Law Defining the Powers of the Ombudsman, the
Magna Carta for Health Workers, the Breastfeeding Law, the Establishment
of the National Integrated Protected Areas System, the laws granting
incentives and special privileges to Senior Citizens; Small Farmers; and
Campus Journalists.

As a Senate Chief, from 1993 to 1995, Angara, with his aggressive and
consensus-building approach, rallied the chamber to pass bills and
resolutions for an Executive-Legislative cooperation in economic
reforms, which resulted in the Economic Summit of August 1993.
It was likewise during his term that the Senate adopted a policy to
reimpose the death penalty for heinous crimes and saw the ratification
of the “ Earth Summit “ treaty, along with five pro-environment
treaties, many of which have already been enacted into law.

He was awarded the Most Outstanding Alumnus for Legislation by the UP
College of Law for his “ enlightened leadership “ of the Senate as it
enacts legislations to improve the quality of life of the Filipinos and
for his devotion to the concerns of education, law and justice, labor,
family, arts and culture, environment and health care.